It also announced a number of other new routes: Melbourne-San Francisco, Adelaide-Uluru, Darwin-Uluru, Melbourne-Denpasar and Sydney-Bendigo.

The most popular international destinations for Qantas passengers this year were Los Angeles, London, Singapore and New Zealand. Domestically, Qantas had an increase in passengers flying to Perth, Hobart and Mackay.

Qantas made the record books when QF9 touched down at London’s Heathrow Airport, direct from Perth, in March.Source:Supplied

By New Year’s Eve, Qantas will have flown 30 million passengers this year on 280,000 flights across a total flying distance of 465 million kilometres.

That’s a lot of in-flight meals, movies and TV show binges on Qantas flights. Here’s what Qantas passengers loved the most in 2018.

The most ordered dish in the First Lounge was the salt and pepper squid — Qantas served more than 200,000 plates of it across the globe.

Champagne was the drink of choice on Qantas flights, with 130,000 bottles served across the international network.

But some new trends emerged in 2018. With passengers craving a balanced meal in the skies, Qantas introduced a new hydration-boosting, jet lag-busting menu on its Perth to London flights, and found the kale, quinoa and poached egg brunch bowl was especially popular.

But the sausage sandwich, cooked to order on an outdoor barbecue, was a big hit in the Perth Transit Lounge as passengers prepared for those non-stop flights to the UK.

Qantas also served 40,000 Botanica probiotic shots in-flight, which somewhat made up for all those bottles of bubbly.

TV AND MOVIES

Qantas is constantly keeping an eye on what passengers are watching and listening to in-flight using an anonymous on-board rating system.

In 2016, the most-watched movie was Spectre. Last year it was Boss Baby. This year, it was Mission: Impossible — Fallout that reigned supreme.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout was the most watched movie on Qantas flights in 2018.Source:Supplied

• The most popular Australian film was Breath, directed by and starring Simon Baker

• The most watched box set was Billions

• Modern Family was the most watched TV show — and it is every year

• The most-watched children’s film was Incredibles 2

• The two films that 80 per cent of passengers watched the entire way through were

Qantas launched a mindfulness category in 2018, which included the Qantas meditation video series and relaxation albums. The most popular tracks were Peaceful Piano and Nature Spirit: A Journey into Magical and Relaxing Forest Sounds.

Qantas also discovered on its domestic 737 and A330 flights with Wi-Fi, passengers spent the most time using email and browsing the web, followed by social media (Facebook was the most popular social media app) and streaming video and music services.

Modern Family was, yet again, the most watched TV comedy.Source:Supplied

The top 10 films of 2018 were:

1. Mission: Impossible — Fallout

2. Crazy Rich Asians

3. Ocean’s 8

4. Kingsman: The Golden Circle

5. Black Panther

6. Justice League

7. Blade Runner 2049

8. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!

9. Avengers: Infinity War

10. Red Sparrow

Top 5 TV box sets:

• Billions

• Westworld

• Riverdale

• Ballers

• Britannia

Top 5 TV comedies:

• Modern Family

• The Big Bang Theory

• Young Sheldon

• Family Guy

• American Dad

Qantas will have a special Christmas channel for the holiday season that will include the modern classic Elf.Source:News Corp Australia

HOLIDAY SEASON 2018

More than five million passengers are expected to fly with Qantas in December and January, with a massive 1.5 million of those passengers flying over the Christmas and New Year period.

Qantas will be operating 36,500 services, including extra flights to popular destinations Bali, Singapore and Hong Kong.

It also operates seasonal Vancouver services for travellers seeking the snow.

Qantas said the busiest days in its terminals were the few days before Christmas. The weekend of December 22 to 24 will be the busiest days for domestic travel, while the first week in January are busiest for international passengers.

The most popular domestic destinations will be Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, while the United States, London and Japan are the most popular destinations for those heading overseas.

And this year, on Qantas’ dedicated Christmas movie channel in December and January, passengers will be watching: